Archive for the ‘Ireland’ Category

we head for a road trip to the west coast – on the way we stop at this tower house (like a mini-castle)

last time Shane and Fo were here you could climb the stone stairs of the tower right to the top

but now it’s been locked up (public liability most probably) so we have to be content with sitting outside 🙁

(richard would like to point out that he did not actually just slip and fall onto his arse just before the above photo was taken… he was just really very keen to sit on some really sharp gravel before going back to the car. Nice save Daddyo!)

an old farm-house and barn just down the road from our B&B…

there is most certainly no shortage of old ruins (castles, houses, towers, walls…) in this country…

(strangely the early Irish architects/builders must have a lot of troubles inventing the roof as very few of these early buildings had them)

and the sheep are very accommodating, standing still for postcard shots… (they are obviously from the UK or France as they are traveling on the wrong side of the road). Amazingly we were doing about 140km/h when this shot was taken but they still managed to get out of the way!

the west coast is a stunner – this is Achill Island

our attic room in Galway

she’s much prettier than us don’t you think?

visiting Malahide castle (just down the road from Shane and Fo), the last resident of which now lives in Tasmania (she’s 88, and had to sell the castle to pay the inheritance taxes) Observe the marvel of symbiosis! The beautiful baby controls that huge fat git with just a simple twist of the ear! Without her at the controls all he can manage are some basic life support functions and a little bit of telly watching.

Richard is attempting to push our bedroom around a bit to the west so the sun doesn’t come belting in at 4am. Rocket is trying to push the room over on it’s side so that she can play in the Irish sea.

This is the Irish Sea – there’s no chance anyone is walking backwards over this, not even for Christmas [thanks Spike].

We visit a 5800 yr old passage grave. From this spot one can see 22 counties [not visible in this photo, the counties are everywhere but in this photo, so you will have to imagine them. To assist I can tell you they are green and very nice to look at, but watch out for the one that has a hail-storm above it, I think it’s coming our way]

Jo has knitted a very nifty hat to keep Rocket’s ever growing brain all warm and cosy.

A young person being held by an older person standing next to some quite old headstones at a very old abbey.

with Fo at Howth – pronounced “Hoath”, just like “Bono” [from U2] is pronounced “Bonno” not “Bone-Oh”… so much to take in!

Hi, I’m Rocket and I’m hiding under this chair to give my parents a chance to see how cute I am. It has worked before and I dare say it will work again.”